Readings

Readings for Cornish celebrations: Kristin Arundel, the celebrant, has many years experience in helping people to choose the perfect readings for a ceremony. The choice of readings, whether poems, songs or literature, is a very important factor in making your ceremony unique and personal. Kristin always takes the time to discuss with you in detail the readings you would like, and she has a large selection available to help inspire you. Contact Kristin to find out more.

* from the Prophet , by Kahlil Gilbran:

You were born together
and together you shall be forevermore
you shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days
but let there be space in your togetherness
and let the winds of the heavens dance between you

Love one another, but make not a bond of love
let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls
sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone
even as the strings of a lute are alone, though they quiver with the same music

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping
for only the hand of Life can contain your hearts
stand together, yet not too near together
for the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow

* extract from On the Meadow , by Katri Vala

You, the fragrant air of summer,
you touch my eyes
you allow my ears to hear.
Distance and time glide away.
A boundless meadow. Red flowers
are opening in the twilight:
the endless chain of hearts
circles the round globe of earth.
From beyond the centuries - today
a voice , warm like the earth, clear like the day , is sounding:
this is the road of life !

* Eskimo Love Song , author unknown

You are my husband
my feet shall run because of you
my feet dance because of you
my heart shall dance because of you
my mind thinks because of you
and I shall love because of you

* Have You Ever , by Jody Beck

Have you ever just met a person
who made your head turn ?
Have you ever met a person
who made your heart burn ?
Have you ever met a person
that let you be you ?
Have you ever met a person
that made you feel love true?
Have you ever met a person
who touched you so deep ?
Have you ever met a person
without whom you could not sleep ?

Have you ever met a person
that brightened your life ?
Have you ever met a person
that made you want to be a wife ?
Have you ever met a person
whose eyes promise you'll never feel blue ?
I know you have
because that person is you

* Marriage Advice , by Jane Wells

Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise ,
for it is better to bend than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst ,
for people have a way of living up , or down
to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship is the basis
for any lasting relationship.
The person you marry is deserving of
the courtesy and kindness you bestow on friends.
Please hand this down to your children ,
and to your children's children.

* Love , by Roy Croft

I love you
not only for what you are
but for what I am when I am with you.

I love you
not only for what you have made of yourself
but for what you are making of me.

I love you
for the part of me that you bring out;
I love you for
putting your hand into my heaped-up heart
and passing over all the foolish , weak things
that you can't help dimly seeing there ,
and for drawing out into the light
all the beautiful belongings
that no one else had looked
quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
are helping me to make
of the lumber of my life
not a tavern , but a temple;
out of the works
of my every day
not a reproach but a song.

I love you because you have done
more than any creed
could have done to make me good ,
and more than any fate
could have done
to make me happy.

You have done it
without a touch ,
without a word ,
without a sign.
You have done by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
being a friend means , after all.

* Anonymous

In times of darkness
love sees
In times of silence
love hears
In times of doubt
love hopes
In times of sorrow
love heals
and at all times
love remembers

* The Art of a Good Marriage by WA Peterson

A good marriage must be created
In marriage, the little things are the big things
Marriage is never being to old to hold hands

It is remembering to say : " I love you ", at least once a day
It is never going to sleep angry
It is never taking each other for granted
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family
It is doing things for each other
not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice
but in the spirit of joy

It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways
It is not looking for perfection in each other
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humour
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful

It is establishing a relationship
in which independence is equal
dependence is mutual
and the obligation is reciprocal

It is not only marrying the right person
It is being the right partner

* I Promise by Dorothy R.Colgan

I promise to give you the best of myself
and ask of you no more than you can give

I promise to respect you as your own person
and to realise that your interests, desires and needs are no less important than my own

I promise to share with you my time and attention
and to bring joy , strength and imagination to our relationship

I promise to keep myself open to you
to let you see through the window of my world into my innermost fears
and feelings , secrets and dreams

I promise to grow along with you
to be willing to face changes in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting

I promise to love you in good times and bad
with all that I have to give , and all I feel inside in the only way I know how
Completely and forever

* From the writings of the Persian poet Rumi

May these vows and this marriage be blessed

May it be sweet milk , this marriage , like wine and halvah

May this marriage offer fruit and shade , like the date palm

May this marriage be full of laughter , like our every day in Paradise

May this marriage be a sign of compassion , a seal of happiness , here and hereafter

May this marriage have a fair face and a good name , an omen as welcome as the moon in a clear blue sky